Early Years

Young children in low-income neighborhoods are spending many of their after-school hours in front of televisions, a study from the School-Age Child Care Project says.

Research shows that how children spend time out of school can either enhance or compromise their academic performance and social development. Economically disadvantaged children, who are less likely than other youngsters to attend formal after-school programs, may have the most critical need for the activities those programs provide, says the study from the advocacy and information project at Wellesley College in Massachusetts.

"I Wish the Kids Didn't Watch so Much TV" focuses on 180 4- to 7-year-olds in Head Start programs, kindergarten, and 1st grade in St. Paul, Minn.; San Jose, Calif.; and Worcester, Mass. The researchers used several methods, including interviews,...